No Longer an Island: European Influence on English Civil Procedure

18 Pages Posted: 27 Sep 2013

See all articles by Neil H. Andrews

Neil H. Andrews

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law

Date Written: September 24, 2013

Abstract

English civil justice is no longer insulated from external influence. But the strength of that influence ranges from fundamental, to moderate, to the symbolic and hence practically insignificant. First, the most fundamental change occurred when European human rights law induced the UK to destroy the long-standing judicial office of the Lord Chancellor and to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords with the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Secondly, a moderate degree of influence occurred when the European decision in the Gambazzi case (2009) instructed fellow European courts to be wary of over-severe and disproportionate English sanctions against failure to comply with court orders. Thirdly, the European Directive on Mediation (2008), although symbolically influential in some European jurisdictions, was regarded in England as little more than signal the need for Member states to take seriously mediation. Within England the Directive, although not resisted, did little more than make minor adjustments to established mediation practice in the statistically insignificant field of 'cross-border mediation'.

Keywords: civil procedure, European law, human rights law, impact on English legal institutions and practices

JEL Classification: K33, K4, K40, K41

Suggested Citation

Andrews, Neil H., No Longer an Island: European Influence on English Civil Procedure (September 24, 2013). University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 40/2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2330321 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2330321

Neil H. Andrews (Contact Author)

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law ( email )

10 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DZ
United Kingdom

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